Kansas City Missouri 18th & Vine Roberts Building

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The black business community was very prosperous between 1910 and 1930. Second to the Lincoln Building, the Roberts Building was the site of the first black-owned automobile dealership in America. It was constructed in 1923 by businessman Homer Roberts and black realtor John Sears at a cost of $70,000. Homer Roberts worked several years in the automobile industry and in 1923 opened his own dealership on the first floor of the building. The first floor had a sales office, a forty-car display area, and a garage. The Roberts Motor Mart sold many different brands, such as Ford and Chevrolet, while specializing in the Hupmobile. By 1929, Roberts had sold more than $2 million worth of cars. His success in the automobile business gave him a reputation among the manufacturers that allowed him to sell several different types of makes and models.

The size of the building allowed for other businesses to occupy the building. Other than the Roberts dealership, the first floor contained many other businesses such as the Givens Restaurant, and the Henry Peace Barbershop, along with several dress shops. The second floor housed the medical offices of Percy C. Turner and Lucien P. Richardson, and the dental offices of V. O. Wilkinson and A. C. Wilson. The Atlanta Life Insurance Company also held offices in the Roberts Building. Because of all the businesses occupying the Roberts Building, it was referred to as "The Negro Shopping Center." The Lincoln and Roberts Buildings were considered the most prestigious places for black professionals during the 1930s and 1940s.

Roberts sold the majority of his cars to African Americans. As one of the leading black citizens in the city, Roberts hired only black workers to not only work in his dealership but to also build the building. Roberts insisted on black masons during the construction of his building, and every one of his sales, clerical, and garage staff were black. In 1929 Roberts moved to Chicago where he and a partner opened the Roberts-Campbell Motors Company. He entered service in the army during World War II and worked in public relations at the Pentagon. He returned to Chicago after the war and remained active in public relations field and died in 1952.